Susu and Huangfu Shaohua spoke no more, both conserving their strength.
Susu leaned against the wall, eyes closed, and soon drifted into a heavy sleep.
She didn't know how long had passed when she heard the sound of a door opening in her daze. She startled awake, her eyes wide, staring at the person who entered.
"You've completely ruined Zhuzhu!" Sheng Haoguang, who had entered, was like a maddened beast, kicking and punching Huangfu Shaohua on the ground. "You haven't just ruined her lifelong happiness, you've also turned her into an ugly monster!"
Susu, seeing Sheng Haoguang's heavy blows from the side, feared that if this continued, Huangfu Shaohua would be beaten to death. She shouted, "Stop! It wasn't him, it was me!"
Sheng Haoguang stopped his assault on Huangfu Shaohua and turned his bloodshot eyes towards Susu.
Susu was frightened by his ravenous gaze, her voice trembling as she explained, "She mistook me for someone else and wanted to throw sulfuric acid at me, but it splashed onto her own hands and hair. We didn't intentionally harm her..."
Before Susu could finish, Sheng Haoguang slapped her hard and said sternly, "You all deserve to die, every single one of you!"
He grabbed Susu by the neck as if he had gone mad, intending to take her life right then and there!
Huangfu Shaohua, enduring the immense pain throughout his body, struggled to help Susu but was powerless, able to do nothing but watch.
Susu felt as though all sounds had vanished. The intense suffocation made her eyes widen in terror, and the instinct for survival brought mist to her eyes...
At this moment, there was a violent knocking at the door, and someone shouted from outside, "Is anyone there? Is anyone inside? I'm from the property management!"
This voice... this voice was so familiar. She thought she was going to die, and warm tears fell onto her cheeks.
Sheng Haoguang, startled, released his grip, as if regaining his sanity.
Susu couldn't speak, her throat burning as if cut by a knife, as if she had just returned from the gates of hell.
Huangfu Shaohua wanted to respond to the property management outside, but Sheng Haoguang immediately covered his mouth tightly.
The entire room and the house fell into a deathly silence.
"The resident downstairs has reported a leak to our property management. If no one is inside, we will use the renovation spare key to open the door, and the entire process will be recorded," the property management outside spoke again.
Sheng Haoguang finally realized they hadn't changed the door, and he didn't want to arouse suspicion, but he had forgotten that the property management had a spare key.
He struck Huangfu Shaohua's head violently. Seeing him fall, he then left the room where they were confined, letting his subordinates in to gag Susu.
He then walked to the main door, adjusted himself, and responded to the property management outside, "Where is the leak? Someone is here."
Saying this, he opened the door and saw a man in a property management uniform with an ID badge hanging from his neck standing at the entrance.
Qin Tianyi had disguised his face, thinking Sheng Haoguang wouldn't recognize him, but he recognized Sheng Haoguang at a glance.
This was indeed where Sheng Haoguang was hiding. Susu must be inside.
He suppressed the excitement in his heart and politely asked, as a property management staff member would, "Are you the owner?"
Sheng Haoguang nodded and said, "Yes, I am. Where is the leak downstairs? I'm about to start renovations, but haven't begun yet. How could there be a leak?"
"Have you used any water, or the restroom?" Tianyi asked. "The resident downstairs reported some seepage on their ceiling. Could you let me in to check the water pipes and the restroom?"
"Certainly." Sheng Haoguang's tone was calm, but he felt a bit nervous, worried that this property management inspection might reveal something.
Tianyi held his water meter and waterproofing tools, said "Thank you," and walked in.
He saw that the two top-floor units had been combined and indeed were not yet renovated, with exposed concrete walls everywhere.
"I'll take you to the kitchen and restroom where the water pipes are," Sheng Haoguang said, leading the way.
Tianyi followed him, noticing that the entire space had been divided into a row of rooms, with only a single passageway for walking.
He noticed a straight corridor, and on a sealed window, there was a button.
Tianyi had seen a glowing object from downstairs, not a nail. This button was from the clothes Susu wore when she left that morning.
Susu was here, she must be here!
Perhaps in one of the rooms, but the rooms here were divided, each with a door. He couldn't act rashly and alert them.
Tianyi quickly memorized the layout of the rooms and arrived at the restroom with Sheng Haoguang. The restroom was simply fitted, with a showerhead and a trash can.
There were many cigarette butts in the trash can.
He glanced at it briefly before starting to check for any leaky spots.
Sheng Haoguang smiled and said, "These renovation workers haven't installed much, but they've smoked a lot."
"It's always like that," Tianyi agreed, continuing his inspection. He indeed found a leaky spot.
After recording it in his logbook, he asked Sheng Haoguang to sign, saying, "I'll return to the property management office now to arrange for a technician to come and repair it."
Sheng Haoguang signed with the name of the homeowner, Tang Liang, and said with a smile, "You don't need your property management to repair it. I know where the leak is, and I'll have the renovation workers fix it. This leak is most likely caused by their carelessness when installing the bathroom."
"That's fine, but it needs to be fixed as soon as possible. We don't want the resident downstairs complaining to us again," Tianyi said, closing the logbook and bidding him farewell.
He personally escorted Tianyi to the door.
Susu, in the room, could hear Tianyi's voice and his footsteps, but she couldn't shout that she was here.
Her mouth was gagged, and Sheng Haoguang's subordinates were all in this room, watching her and Huangfu Shaohua, afraid they would make any sound.
Susu looked at Huangfu Shaohua, who had been lying on the ground motionless after being punched by Sheng Haoguang, and was extremely worried.
After Sheng Haoguang saw the property management staff out, he returned to the room, completely relaxed, and said to his subordinates, "What are you guys doing? You haven't even finished the simple renovation of the restroom, and now there's a leak. Hurry up and fix the leaky spot!"
Two subordinates left.
Susu struggled and looked at Sheng Haoguang, then at Huangfu Shaohua, who was lying on the ground, making muffled sounds.
Sheng Haoguang impatiently removed the cloth gagging her mouth and asked, "What do you want to say now?"
"Quickly check... check Huangfu Shaohua. He's been lying there without moving," Susu said, panting.
Sheng Haoguang signaled with his eyes, and a subordinate squatted down, pushed the face-down Huangfu Shaohua, and said impatiently, "Stop pretending. Can you sit up on your own?"
But as he pushed Huangfu Shaohua, he felt Huangfu Shaohua's body become limp and soft. He exclaimed in shock and cursed, "Shit!"
He quickly moved to turn Huangfu Shaohua over. At this moment, everyone in the room discovered that he was bleeding from all seven orifices and appeared lifeless.
Sheng Haoguang went to check his breathing, his fingers trembling.
Susu stared intently at his reaction, desperately hoping Huangfu Shaohua was still alive. "Hurry and take him to the hospital!"